PWA World Tour Fuerteventura 2006

Tuesday, 1 Aug, 2006

The PWA (Professional windsurfing Association) racing tour has begun at Fuerteventura, Canary Islands. The first event for the women this year saw some tough conditions with winds ranging from 8knots to 40knots and choppy water. Only four sails and two boards were allowed to be registered so for most competitors some of the conditions didn’t favor them because of lack of sail choices. Allison struggled with a strained hip flexor for the first two days of racing limping around not able to straighten her leg properly, then had to tape her feet up from the blisters caused by the board grip and foot straps. “I’ve been wearing booties for the last three months so my feet have gone soft, so I just have to tape it all up so I can keep racing”. Allison has finished a credible 3rd after not having been on a slalom board for 6 months because of her Olympic RS:X commitments. “I had two days before the competition to get tuned in to the gear again. I was struggling with my gibes because the boa rd is so much smaller than the RS:X and formula boards I’m used to. Turkey next week should be easier for me because it is flatter water there”. Allison will now go to Turkey straight away for the IFCA Slalom World championships, which is also the second PWA event, hoping to reclaim the PWA title from Karin Jaggi.

The ISA Speed grand prix has also been running parallel with the PWA Slalom 42 event. Allison came third in the first heat even though having the 2nd highest speed over the 500m course because of the averages. The 2nd day was testing conditions with 37 knots of wind an waves breaking down the speed course. Allison got the fastest speed of the day clocking 32.84 knots which was enough to make her average good enough for a first place in this heat. This run was also a new Australian women’s speed record. Allison is currently coming 2nd in the overall standing behind the current world speed record holder Karin Jaggi and with Vallery close on her heels in 3rd. Three more days to go in this speed event. The organizers will try for two 90 minutes heats per day to get enough results for some drops. Stay tuned for more Fuerte action soon.